Medical examining table

ABSTRACT

A medical examining table apparatus having a plurality of rollers connected to a framework with an endless belt riding on the rollers. The framework may be incorporated into a table or placed on top of an existing table with the endless belt being motor driven by the operator. Paper or other sheet material is fed over a portion of the belt between a feed roller and a takeup roller actuated by the movement of the belt through two pulleys and a belt drive and provides a protective sanitary cover for the belt.

llaited States Patent 1 Taylor et a1.

[451 May 14,1974

[ 1 MEDICAL EXAMlNING TABLE [76] Inventors: Clifton 1. Taylor, Drawer M;

Charles w. Hardwiclr, 600 w; 2721? St., both of Sanford. Fla. 32771Filed: Oct. 26, 1972 Appl. No.: 300,911

U.S. C1 5/81 R. 5/60. 5/317, 269/323, 297/283 Int. Cl A61g 7/10, A6lg1/02 Field of Search 5/60, 61,81, 86, 317; 269/323; 297/92, 221, 222,283

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1968 Scrivener 5/317 R 5/1971K011 et a1. 5/81 R 9/1959 .1 5/81 B Kenney Hess 5/317 R Proctor 297/283Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney, Agent, or FirmDuckworth,Hobby & Allen [57] ABSTRACT A medical examining table apparatus having aplurality of rollers connected to a framework with an endless beltriding on the rollers. The framework may be incorporated into a table orplaced on top of an existing table with the endless belt being motordriven by the operator. Paper or other sheet material is fed over aportion of the belt between a feed roller and a takeup roller actuatedby the movement of the belt through two pulleys and a belt drive andprovides a protective sanitary cover for the belt.

14 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures iATENTED MAY 14 I974 saw 2 or 4 PATENTEUIAY141914,

(saw a IJF 4 l MEDICAL EXAMINING TABLE 9 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to a medical examining table for use indoctors offices, medical clinics and in hospitals for examining apatient in which the examining physician can shift the position of thepatient by the operation of a switch. More particularly, such anexamining table is provided with means for maintaining a protectivecover of material such as paper and for removing the soiled paperfollowing the examination of a patient and at the end of the day.

In the past it has been common practice to provide numerous types ofexamining tables for doctors offices and for hospitals in which theexamining table has movable or bending sections and also has variousattachments to allow different types of examinations to take place witha minimum of inconvenience to both the physician and the patient. Manyof these tables are provided with paper which is rolled across theexamining table so that blood, chemicals or disease germs are protectedfrom the surface of the table and from which the paper cover can beremoved or shifted for the next patient. Examining tables are alsoprovided with means for elevating and lowering a patient and forshifting patients for an examining table to a bed, or the like.

Lateral shifting tables may be seen in US. Pat. No. 3,493,979 for aMethod and Apparatus for Moving Objects; US. Pat. No. 2,984,842 for aLateral Shift Litter; U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,351 for a Patient TransferDevice. A patient handling table which provides an elevator for invalidsand utilizes rollers is shown in US. Pat. No. 3,541,617 for Elevator forlnvalids, and a roller stretcher is illustrated in US. Pat. No.3,418,670.

The present invention provides for shifting a patient to and fro orduring the examination and helps the patient get off of the examiningtable following the examination. A protective cover for-the movableportion of the examining table presents special problems inasmuch as theexamining table cover must be fed at the same speeds the moving belt. Inaddition to the difficulty in maintaining the same speed of the belt andthe covers, the examining table provides for the easy removal of aportion of a toll when it is soiled for destruction following severalexaminations or at the end of the day.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a medicalexamining table which has a frame allowing it to be set directly on topof an existing table or, alternatively, can be an integral unit with thetable. The frame has two elongated side members having a plurality ofspaced rollers connected therebetween and an endless belt riding on therollers so that the endless belt is supported by the rollers and willsupport a patient. The endless belt is driven by an electric motor whichis actuated by a switch by the physician to shift the patient in aforward or backward direction on the endless belt. A roll of paper orother protective material is spread across the top portion of theendless belt and moves at the same speed as the endless belt from oneroll to a second roll, with the takeup roll having a quickly removableroller for removing soiled paper, as desired. A special drive meansallows the paper to feed at the same speed as the endless belt and aspecial timing circuit allows actuation for a predetermined period oftime so that the roll of paper will feed a predetermined amount ofsoiled paper onto the takeup roller to prepare the table for the nextpatient. A bending joint may be provided in the table to allow liftingof one end of the examining table without shifting the other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are perspectiveviews of the takeup rollers for the protective cover paper;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the examining table showing the takeuproller thereon; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the driven mechanism for the papercovering for the examining table.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now toFIG. l, amedical examining table .10 is illustrated having a base portion 11,with cabinets l2 and drawers 13 therein and having the patient shiftingportion 14 attached to the top of the base 11. The operating portion 14has a pair of elongated frame members 15 and 16 having a movableconnection 17 and lower portions 18 and 19. The connection 17 has a pairof hinges 20 which connect the frame members 15 and 18 at 16 and 19,respectively, together so that they form a movable joint. Frame members15 and 16 have a plurality of rollers 21 connected therebetween for anendless belt 22 to ride while supporting a patient. The endless belt 22rides between a pair of end rollers 23 and 24 with a head pillow 24 notbeing covered by the endless belt. Roll 23 is driven by motor 26 whichdrives a gear box 27 connected to the shaft 28 of the roller 23. Theroller 23 engages the endless belt 22 to move the endless belt 22 overits path over the rollers 21. The rollers 21 have a shaft portion 30 anda rotating cylindrical portion 31 to slide over the shafte 30. The mainupper roller 24 is driven by the endless belt 22 being driven by therotation of the roller 23 and has a pulley 32 connected to one endthereof which drives a flexible drive belt 33. A second pulley 34 isdriven by belt 33 and is connected to the paper takeup roll 35 fortaking up the paper 36 which rides over the headrest 25 and over theendless belt 22 from a roll of paper, cloth, or other flat sheetmaterial 37 on a supply roller 38. The belt 33 may be connected toprovide a slippage to allow for a slight variation of speed as the rollof soiled paper on the roller 35 increases in size by each revolution ofthe roll.

Each roller 21 is bolted at 40 to the frame members l5, l6, l8 and 19and a toggle switch 41 is provided to actuate the motor 25 and a timer42 may be included in the circuit for operation by' a separate switch43. Thus, actuation of the switch 43 only operates the motor 26 fof apredetermined time in accordance with the timer 42 and is for thepurpose of allowing the soiled paper 36 covering the examining table tobe wrapped onto the roller 35 to prepare the table for the next patient.Electric timers for switching electric sources on and off are of coursecommercially available. Actuation of the button 43 allows the endlessbelt, along with the roller 35 to operate for a predetermined timeperiod to allow sufficient new paper from the roll 37 to cover theendless belt 22 and head portion 25. In operation, a patient is placedon the paper 36 which is supported by the endless belt 22 which in turnis supported by the rollers 21 and the physician can operate the switch41 to move the patient backwards or forwards in accordance with thedirection switch 41 is switched. This of course requires a reversiblemotor 25 to drive the endless belt 22 in either direction desired. Afterthe examination is completed, the physician can actuate the switch 41 tohelp place the patient in a better position to get off the table ifdesired, and then actuate the switch 43 to remove the soiled paper 36from the top of the table while replacing it with clean paper for thenext patient. The roll of paper 37 on the roller 38 rides in a tray 44which isolates it from the roller 35 having the soiled paper andinasmuch as the soiled paper may contain blood or other materials thatmight product obnoxious odors or be infectious, it is desirable to havea roller 35 which allows the rapid removal of soiled paper thereon, andthis feature will be described in connection with FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

FIG. 2 shows the operation of the examining table top sitting on a basetable 11, and the elongated frame members and 16 connected to theirbottom portions 18 and 19 and bending on the jointed portion 17 with theframe members 15 and 16 being lifted to bend on the joint 17 byhydraulically actuated cylinder 45 located in the table 11. The unit canbe seen having the head portion with the endless belt 22 and the paper36 riding thereon. The exact tilt of the frame members 15 and 16 andhead rest 25 on the joint 17 can be adjusted, as desired. by operationofa hydraulic cylinder 45 and the movement of the belt can be controlledby a switch 41.

It should be pointed out at this point that the examining portion of thetable 14 could be a separate unit for placing on an independentexamining table 11, if deaired, but in which event the examining tablewould not normally have the hydraulic cylinder 45 for lifting a portionof the examining table top 14, and the frame members 18 and 19 would bestrapped or bolted to the table 11, without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a better understanding of.

the operation of the rollers 22 is illustrated being connected to theframe members 15 and 16 by bolts 40, and having a shaft with a specialroller spacer 31 which may be a piece of vinyl or other polymer pipewhich rotates on a fixed smooth steel shaft 30 for support of theendless belt 22. However, it should also be pointed out that in somecases it is desirable to have a conventional roller 50 riding on a shaft51 and riding on ball bearings, or the like, in place of the roller 22,and in this case alternating the rollers 22 with rollers 50 provides apreferred operation of the rollers. The framework 15 and 16 can be seenas being made of relatively thick material and may be a molded plastic,or could be steel or aluminum or any material of sufficient strength tosupport the patients weight on the rollers. An overhanging lip 49 keepsthe edges of the belt 36 out of the way of patients fingers, or thelike, and allows the belt to bend at the joint 17 (FIG. 2).

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) illustrate the operation of the takeup roller 35which has a shaft 52 and an end disc 53 having an annular portion 54from which a cylindrical member 55 rides on which cylindrical member 55has a slot 56 for inserting the end of the paper 36 therein. A drive pin59 is attached to the annular portion 54 and fits in slot 56 ofcylindrical member 55 to prevent slippage of the member 55. As may bemore clearly seen in FIG. 4(b), the disc member 53 with its portion 54may be slipped off the one end of the cylinder 55 for removing thecylindrical portion 55 with the roll of soiled paper or other material36 while the slot 56 provides not only a quick connection for the paperbut allows enough leeway in the cylinder 55 to remove it from the rollof paper thereon and allows the cylindrical roller 55 to be taken offand replaced quickly onto the end disc 53 riding on the shaft 52. Thismay be seen more clearly in FIG. 3 in which the roll of new paper 37 isheld in the tray 44 with the paper 36 passing over the headrest 25 andwhich is held by the elongated frame members 15 and 16 riding on thetable 11. The endless belt 22 continues to move over its path while thesoiled paper 36 rides onto the soiled paper roll 35 having the visibleend disc 53 riding on a shaft 52. The shaft 52 hooks into a bracket 57connected to the frame members 15 and 16 and may be quickly unhooked asillustrated in FIG. 5 to slide the roll 35 over the shaft 52 where thepaper may be torn, as illustrated, for removing the soiled portion, andthe roller quickly replaced on the shaft 52.

Turning now to FIG. 6, a better understanding of the operation of thepaper drive is illustrated having the endless belt 22 riding on thedrive roller 24 having a shaft 60 connected to the pulley 32 and drivinga belt 33 which in turn drives the pulley 34 connected to the shaft 61which is connected to the soiled paper rolls 35 having the disc 53 withthe cylindrical paper holder 55 holding the paper 36. The shaft 52 ofcourse has a squared off portion as illustrated in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b)for preventing the disc members 53 from turning on the shaft while theshaft is being driven by the belt 52. The belt 33 connects the shaft 24driven by the belt 22 to the shaft 52 driven by the pulley 34 to operateat the same speed so that the belt 22 and the paper 36 will ridetogether and the belt 33 can slip on the pulleys 32 and 34 to allow fora slight variation as the takeup roll 35 increases in size.

It should be clear at this point to those skilled in the art that amedical examining table has been provided which is adapted to shiftpatients on the table and which provides several unique roller systemsand means for feeding a protective covering for the table. It should bepointed out that most of the components can be made of any materialsdesired, and most are available commercially. For instance, the endlessbelt 22 can use a conventional conveyor belt material covered withcomfortable sponge and vinyl or plastic finished to be cleaned and themotor 26 can be a conventional electric motor operating on 1 l0 voltalternating current supply.

Accordingly, this invention it is not to be constructed as limited tothe particular forms disclosed herein, since these are to be regarded asillustrative rather than restrictive.

We claim:

l. A medical examining table comprising in combination:

a. a frame having a pair of frame members;

b. a plurality of spaced rollers connected between said frame members;

0. an endless belt riding on said rollers;

d. actuation means for driving said endless belt over said rollers andbeing connected to said frame;

e. means for covering a portion of said endless belt with a thin flatcovering material, and for moving said thin flat material with themovement of said endless belt;

f. each of said pair of frame members having a protective lip to coverthe edge of a portion of said endless belt, and said pair of framemembers being hinged along their longitudinal axes to allow said frameto be bent, said protection lip being adapted to hold said endless beltalong said bend in said frame; and

g. means for lifting one end of said hinged frame whereby a patientmaybe shifted on an examining table by the movement of an endless belt.

2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which said means forcovering a portion of said endless belt includes a pair of materialsupport rollers for rolling said thin flat material between and over aportion of said endless belt.

3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which one said roller islocated in a container to separate the material on said roller from thematerial on the second roller.

4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which one said roller hasmeans for quickly disconnecting it from said frame for removing soiledcovering material therefrom.

5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 4 in which said roller withrapid disconnect includes a hollow elongated cylinder being slottedalong its longitudinal axis for removing covering material wrappedthereon by reducing the circumference of the cylinder by compressing thecylinder to close said slot.

6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which said roller has anend member held on cylindrical portion to receive each end of saidhollow elongated cylinder thereon to support said cylinder duringoperation.

7. The apparatus in accordance with claim 6 in which said end membercylindrical portion has a protrusion for fitting said slotted portion ofsaid elongated cylinder to prevent said elongated cylinder from rotatingon said end members.

8. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which a timer means isconnected to said actuation means for actuation thereof for apredetermined time period for removing covering materials covering aportion of said endless belt onto a roller for soiled materials.

9. The apparatus in accordance with claim I in which each ofa pluralityof said rollers can have a shaft with a hollow cylinder member locatedthereon for'supporting said endless belt.

10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which said actuationmeans includes a switch for actuation of said endless belt for movementin a forward and reverse direction over said rollers upon actuation ofsaid switch by an operator, said switch actuating an electric motordrive.

11. The apparatus in accordance with claim 10 in which said electricmotor drives an endless belt roller to drive said endless belt, and saidendless belt being operatively connected to a second endless belt rollerhaving a pulley connected thereto and a drive belt operativelyconnecting said pulley to at least one of said pair of material supportrollers for moving said thin flat material therebetween over saidendless belt.

12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11 in which said belt drivingsaid material support rollers is connected thereto in a manner to slipto adjust for variations in the size of the rolls of material on saidrollers.

over said head support.

1. A medical examining table comprising in combination: a. a framehaving a pair of frame members; b. a plurality of spaced rollersconnected between said frame members; c. an endless belt riding on saidrollers; d. actuation means for driving said endless belt over saidrollers and being connected to said frame; e. means for covering aportion of said endless belt with a thin flat covering material, and formoving said thin flat material with the movement of said endless belt;f. each of said pair of frame members having a protective lip to coverthe edge of a portion of said endless belt, and said pair of framemembers being hinged along their longitudinal axes to allow said frameto be bent, said protection lip being adapted to hold said endless beltalong said bend in said frame; and g. means for lifting one end of saidhinged frame whereby a patient may be shifted on an examining table bythe movement of an endless belt.
 2. The apparatus in accordance withclaim 1 in which said means for covering a portion of said endless beltincludes a pair of material support roLlers for rolling said thin flatmaterial between and over a portion of said endless belt.
 3. Theapparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which one said roller is locatedin a container to separate the material on said roller from the materialon the second roller.
 4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2 inwhich one said roller has means for quickly disconnecting it from saidframe for removing soiled covering material therefrom.
 5. The apparatusin accordance with claim 4 in which said roller with rapid disconnectincludes a hollow elongated cylinder being slotted along itslongitudinal axis for removing covering material wrapped thereon byreducing the circumference of the cylinder by compressing the cylinderto close said slot.
 6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in whichsaid roller has an end member held on cylindrical portion to receiveeach end of said hollow elongated cylinder thereon to support saidcylinder during operation.
 7. The apparatus in accordance with claim 6in which said end member cylindrical portion has a protrusion forfitting said slotted portion of said elongated cylinder to prevent saidelongated cylinder from rotating on said end members.
 8. The apparatusin accordance with claim 1 in which a timer means is connected to saidactuation means for actuation thereof for a predetermined time periodfor removing covering materials covering a portion of said endless beltonto a roller for soiled materials.
 9. The apparatus in accordance withclaim 1 in which each of a plurality of said rollers can have a shaftwith a hollow cylinder member located thereon for supporting saidendless belt.
 10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which saidactuation means includes a switch for actuation of said endless belt formovement in a forward and reverse direction over said rollers uponactuation of said switch by an operator, said switch actuating anelectric motor drive.
 11. The apparatus in accordance with claim 10 inwhich said electric motor drives an endless belt roller to drive saidendless belt, and said endless belt being operatively connected to asecond endless belt roller having a pulley connected thereto and a drivebelt operatively connecting said pulley to at least one of said pair ofmaterial support rollers for moving said thin flat material therebetweenover said endless belt.
 12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11 inwhich said belt driving said material support rollers is connectedthereto in a manner to slip to adjust for variations in the size of therolls of material on said rollers.
 13. The apparatus in accordance withclaim 1 in which said frame includes removable attachment means forattaching said frame to an existing examining table.
 14. The apparatusin accordance with claim 1 in which said frame includes a head supportconnected between said pair of frame members for supporting a patient''shead, said thin flat covering material passing over said head support.